Those jagged tones and the harsher sound Primal Scream develop on Vanishing Point is not just a build towards XTRMNTR but a rejection of their earliest years. Their sound was riddled with problems of wider influence, from the jangle pop debut to the harsher rock of their self-titled second effort. Vanishing Point is not an explosive, rebellious effort but it does well to highlight the instrumental interest, the out-there sound the band hit on with their alternative dance adaptations. This pursuit is heard on Screamadelica, but there are spots on Vanishing Point which feel far better than their best-known work. Volatility is the aim here but it feels so controlled. There is never a chance of spiralling out of control, instead, the focus is on the sharp instrumentals, a considered effort goes into making these transitions and building, layered tones work. Vanishing Point is a tad too sleek but works well.
A song like Get Duffy works more as a concept, as a suggestion of sound collage than anything to follow. Adequate background noise is never an aim, but it does occur with Vanishing Point. Neat tones which never truly go anywhere, but serve as slices of instrumental interest. Where Primal Scream gathers a rhythmic sense on Get Duffy, they lose a sense of urgency or comment beyond instrumental layering. Nice this may be, but it pales when compared to the high-octane Screamadelica or the rebellious outrage of XTRMNTR. Their soundboard style of work on Kowalski loses its way, too. Even their adaptations of news clippings and sound bites on a tremendously dated, space-age-sounding instrumental section, are not enough to overhaul the sound. It comes across as a bit out of step with the rest of the genre, not for the sake of instrumental exploring but for a chance to be different. Whining instrumentals and commentary without purpose. Primal Scream has always been a band of action but the detail of their statements leaves a lot to desire.
Their hearts are in the right place with efforts like Kowalski or strike-supporting Enough is Enough! decades later, but their heads are completely gone. It is one step to observe, and another to expand the argument. Primal Scream has been constant in understanding the strife and struggle of the country but is rarely capable of commenting with much menace, detail or moving understanding. Instead, they bury that shortcoming in a bed of sound, and when it works, like it does on Trainspotting, it feels inspired. But the lacklustre material Bobby Gillespie oversees here is Vanishing Point’s undoing. Ideas which never tend to go anywhere beyond the adaptations Primal Scream made with their sound before and after, still chasing the influence and never being the band which hits on a sound of their own.
Even enjoyable moments like If They Move, Kill ‘Em or Out of the Void come apart on closer inspection. Noisy efforts where the suddenness of new additions is the real charm. These are few and far between, though, and the bulk of Vanishing Point feels like a relatively tame stopgap between Screamadelica and XTRMNTR. Primal Scream deals in such broad strokes, as they did on the preceding album Give Out But Don’t Give Up. They trade in generalities more than usual on Vanishing Point, a collection of possibilities which head nowhere and repetition. It becomes clear on Medication and does not get any better or worse than that. Middle-of-the-road moments with some instrumentally inspired moments, which fizzle up all too quickly.
